All right so the movie premiered at 12:01!!!! Here's the place to rant, rave, tell us your stories of opening night! We've had 5 movies so far...does this one make the grade?

Get to sharing!!!

I was super disappointed with it... not enough fighting, too many things changed. All over my facebook my friends are posting as Harry Potter epic fail and things similar and I tend to agree with them. The only really good thing I have to say about it is that the comedy side was there. It seemed like they got distracted by the relationship aspect and lost focus on issues of greater importance like horcruxes and the battle at hogwarts which wasn't even a true battle. I didnt have super high hopes because it wasnt my favorite book by any means but from the trailers it seemed like it would be really good. It was alright...

My HP movie rankings:

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Order of the Phoenix
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Half Blood Prince
5. Sorcerers Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets

Well, i just came back from watching HBP. I'm still wearing my HP t-shirt with the Hogwarts crest on it. I think i'm still in shock, actually ... i have to say, i really really loved it.

It wasn't perfect-i mean, have any of them been absolutely perfect to the book? But this was pretty darn close. I too was kinda disappointed by the lack of fighting (i like my violence!) but overall, i really loved it!

I'll just list my likes and dislikes, shall i?

Likes:

-Lavender. She was perfect for the role.

-Ron/Hermione and everything in between. They got that down, all right!

-The fact that Remus and Tonks were in it. I love my Remus ...

-Bellatrix. She is freakin' awesome!

-The funniness of it all! This had to be the funnier of all of the movies, i laughed so much during this one, especially at Slughorn's party. And the lines, "So did you and Ginny do it then?" "What?" "Did you hide the book?" "Oh ... yeah."

-Dumbledore's death-i didn't cry, but i really felt the pain of it. I liked how they all raised their wands for him.

-Draco Malfoy. His part was done really well, especially at the end at the tower.

-Fred and George's shop-it was really fun!

-Most of the Harry/Ginny-ness.

-When Ron fell off the back of the couch when he was love potioned-that was so freakin' funny, i think i laughed the hardest in the theatre!

Dislikes:

-Like i said, the lack of fighting. I wanted to see the huge fight scene at the end!

-How there was no Quidditch Kiss for Harry and Ginny-what the heck happened there in the RoR? It was kinda confusing, and had no real indication of what was going on. And then she just disappears?? What the heck??

Uh ... i think that was about it. There wasn't much i didn't like, mainly those two things. Overall, i think they did an excellent job! I think it was worth the wait of two years.

I agree with everything you said there Moon. Overall was good. Better than OoTP because it wasn't as rushed, however disappointing that it didn't have the big fight at the end. Could also have done with a few more of the memories but they did well. Comedy was good and romance in general was good, except I really missed the Quidditch kiss. That was a big key moment in the 6th book for me and you could hardly call the kiss in the ROR the kiss that we were expecting. Was hoping for a bit more.

But otherwise a really good movie. A bit random though how Dumbledore tells Harry he needs to shave...lol

Over all I found it to be a decent movie. However, I was very dissappointed in the fact that after the first 45 minutes to an hour, the movie was halfway through the book. The movie jumped to quickly in the beginning, assuming that the viewer had read the books and knew what was going on and why. I am disappointed in the Harry/Ginny kiss. I was looking forward to the common room party. I was also very much looking forward to the battle at hogwarts, which I believe someone before me mentioned. I would also have much preferred this movie go for the "pg-13" rating by exposing the wounds on malfoys chest, making the inferi a bit more, well, inferious like, and I would have really liked the "Gaunt memories." I am saddened that apparition was left out, but the way the movie was changed, it would not have fit in at all. I wish the part where DD says "I am not afraid Harry, I am with you" would have been in the movie. Only because this is one of the few showcases of how DD feels about Harry. I have more, which I plan to rave about later on, but for now I'm off to the ministry to change oil, spark plugs, and keep your car from dying.


Shane

I haven't seen the film yet but I could tell from the numerous trailers that there have been many changes. For one thing, Slughorn is nothing like the actor who plays his role and that really put me off (I'm sorry but I don't know his name). I had come to terms with the changes but from what I read... I may wait for the DVD!

Jim Broadbent is his name and he's a very good actor, I think once you see the whole thing you'll probably think otherwise.

I haven't actually seen it yet, I think I'll wait for the crowds to die down before going to see it so I can get those nice 'premium' seats they have

No doubt it'll reach that $1 billion estimate though, might just set a new record.

Allow me to continue to rant. About the opening. I was very disappointed that Dumbledore did not get Harry at number 4 privet drive. I was looking forward to watching a class tapping vernon dursley in the head. I wish there would have been more emotion in the scene when Herminoe set those canarys on Ron. I understand that she was upset, but the way I got it from the book, she was also in an angry mood. Almost to the point, I imagined, that she shouted the incantation, and maybe even gave chase with the birds. Another small thing that bugged me was that Felix was clear. Oh well. And what happend to Harry learning of his lessons with DD? ARGHH!! Oh well. I suppose Hollywood is banking on everyone being so engrossed with the books that that scene happend in our heads? I also caught that Tonks called Lupin "hunny" or "darling" or "sweetie" or something like that. It was 2 am. I don't exactly remember. i dont recall that happening until after Bill was bitten by Fenrir. But Hollywood paid for it so I cant really complain. However, please do not understand me as not liking the film! I loved it! I am merely pointing things out I also agree with you, Linux Felicis. I was truly taken aback at how much the "actor" Slughorn was nothing like the "book" Slughorn.

I actually REALLY liked it and I really wasn't expecting to, not after the huge let down that was OotP.

Here's what I liked and disliked about the film:
Likes....

• Pansy Parkinson, she was great!
• Cormac, he made me laugh.
• The overall comedy in the film.
• When Ron accidentaly took the Love Potion, mwhaha I loved that bit!
• I actually strangely liked Gambon in this film!
• I loved Harry while he was under the effects of Felix :-p
• The relationship between Hermione and Ron was fab
• How they all raised their wants after DD died.
• Aragogs funeral LOL
• and Malfoy was just plain awesome!

Dislikes....

• The film seemed to focus more on the relationships than the important parts in the books like that horcruxes
• They only used 3 of the memories, I'd have love to have the the Gaunt house one
• Harry and Ginnys kiss, it just didn't make sense and the way it was written in the book was awesome
• The fact that the huge battle at Hogwarts didn't happen
• When the death eaters burnt down The Burrow
• They left out the apparation lessons, DADA and DDs funeral!
• The SLug Club...for people who hadn't read the books it was just a random bunch of people sat round a table eating profiteroles.

Other than that I really did like it :-)

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i hate to say it but i was thoroughly disappointed. i thought it was disgraceful. i cannot believe they left out dumbledore's funeral...they left out the battle at the end...they changed soooo much. i left the movie angry...i realize its a very long book and they have time constraints but they spent to much time on the lovey dovey crap and not enough time establishing voldemort's past and the importance of the horcruxes. im really upset that same guy is directing the DH movies also...he sucked!..... and what about charlie getting bit by fenrir?

This is my first, and hopefully only, negative post on VTM. I was so disappointed in the film. There was so much left out that I felt was important to the story line. And the parts that were added in didn't need to be. Why was Harry picking up that gal in a cafe at the beginning instead of being at Privet Drive when DD arrived? Why change that?

I understand why they left out the Other Minister and Fleur and Bill's storyline; there just wasn't time, but they left out Snape teaching DADA, in which the audience would have found out what inferi were. That would have come in handy when they actually popped out of the water in the cave scene. I also agree that the memory of the Gaunts was necessary and we didn't get to see that either.

Sorry to rant on, but the Sectum Sempra scene, as well as Harry and Snape's duel scene, left so much out that anyone who hadn't read the book wouldn't be able to enjoy the build up that lead to Snape revealing that he was the Half Blood Prince. That's the name of the movie for heaven's sake and it was only touched upon.

The fact that they omitted Harry finding out that Snape was the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy was irritating, but leaving out the battle scene was infuriating. Finally, why did they change the ending so much. First, Harry was roaming around beneath the action on the Astronomy tower, instead of being immobilized by DD, then there was no funeral! Ahh!

Thanks for listening. I feel better for getting that off my chest. The ironic thing is that I have tickets to bring my niece and nephews to a showing tonight. I hope I won't be as shocked the second time around. By the way, I thought the parts with Ron were brilliant!

Lisa

Let it be known that at 2:30 a.m. on 7/15/09 I was finally satisfied with a Harry Potter film.

I've always been disappointed with the way the Harry Potter movies turned out, and not just because they didn't follow true to the books, but because they lacked the kind of script that could steal my attention for the entire movie.

I went into the theater hearing the usual babble about how great the new Harry Potter film was, only half heartedly believing it. But, for once, the babble was right! There were several times during the film where I voiced my astonishment at how good it was! (to the annoyance of many people around me.) Not only, in my opinion, did this movie follow the book better than all it's predecessors but it also improved some plot points from the book. For example, I really, really enjoyed the story Slughorn gave about the Lilly petal that turned into his most beloved fish and then vanished the day Lilly Potter died. Being able to justifiably show Slughorn's care for Lilly Potter without spending a good 20 minutes of screen time is a tremendous feet alone.

I also appreciated the attack on the burrow in this film, even though there was nothing remotely like it in the book. I'm assuming they chose to do it to replace the attack during Bill and Fleur's wedding in Deathly Hallows. And there's no way I'll forget the opening scenes of Death Eater's attacking London and Diagon Alley (something I had forgotten until the previews, and then got absolutely pumped to see.)

And as for the comments I read about people being upset about Dumbledore's funeral not being in the film, I share your disappointment but I'm willing to bet my entire Harry Potter collection that the next movie will be opening with Dumbledore's funeral in place of Bill and Fleur's wedding. (and on the topic of Dumbledroe's death; I felt more grief in Dumbledore's death in the movie than I ever did while reading the book. I know, I'm shocked about it as well.)

I loved this movie. It was something a Potter fan could be happy about and a typical movie goer could be pleased with. I think it should be noted that this is the first time I've ever posted anything in the movie forums, along with my first post since July of 2007.

This movie completely rekindled my love for this series and everything it participates in.

I really loved this one. I thought it was the best Harry Potter movie yet.

I loved all the humour in it. Ron and the Love Potion bit was hilarious
I also loved the Burrow scene with the Death Eaters. Although it wasn't in the book I thought it reminded us about the dangerous part of the story, after having all of the romance stuff.
Yes, loads of it did change, but I don't think it made that much of a difference because some things happened at different times and different ways, but at least things were still in there!
The Love Potion part for example: it didn't happen on Ron's birthday, but it still fit in well with the movie.

I was surprised that Bill and Fleur weren't involved at all! What's going to happen with the Deathly Hallows?! It is at their wedding that everything goes wrong!
I was also dissappointed with the lack of fighting at the end. I was wondering what was happening when Harry drank all of the felix felicis (that part was very funny too ) because I'm sitting there thinking "he's supposed to give some to Ron, Hermione and Ginny! " but that never happened so...who knows..
The Harry/Ginny kiss was a little bit confusing, and I think it would have been a lot better in the CR.

I'm defo going to see this one at the cinema again
Loved it! xD

I'd have to say that it was a lot better than I thought it would be. After the last two movies I was really worried that I would be 'NO THAT DIDNT HAPPEN' or 'NO!!!!!!! THIS IS STUPID!!' but no. Only the beginning in the random cafe I was like that. Soooooo....

LOVED!!!:
-The comedy. It was HILARIOUS!!
-Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). He was an AWESOME actor!! The balence between being scared, angry, sad, etc. It was genius!

LIKED!!:
-All the ships Hermione was in. Hermione/Ron and Hermione/McLaggan. Slughorn's party was funny!
-The memories. It would have been better if we could have seen Merope and all of that.

Disliked:
-The fight at the Burrow. No point to that.
-The random cafe at the beginning. No point except setting Harry up for romance with Ginny.
-No fight scene at Hogwarts. It didnt seem really exciting.
-No Dumbledore's funeral.

Overall it was a really good! Oh! And the fact I was on the local news for dressing up like Hermione was really funny.

I though as a movie by itself, it was amazing. With regards to the book however, ehh. With the seventh book already out, I think they could have done a few things differently to make things easier for them in the seventh movies. They made a few key mistakes that might be a problem. Such as: Not showing that Dumbledore was buried with the Elder Wand, it does play a key role in DH. Destroying the Weasley house, not a big deal, but still, they did go there in DH. No Fluer and Bill, not a big deal, but its big in DH. The bit about him loosing his protection when he turns 17. The big flight from the Dursley's house was started in HPB when Dumbledore asked the Durselys to let Harry come back one more time. They never even showed them. Never showing Hufflepuff's cup. Never showing House of Gaunt. These are very key things. They show the Horcux. How could you possibly leave them out and then expect Harry to just know that there is something of Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's floating around out there.

Like I said, overall, a great movie. But I think they might have shot themselves in the foot for a few scenes in DH.

You know, I have extremely mixed feelings about this movie. I haven't really decided if I like it yet. I think I left it disappointed the ending was so freaking horrible, but the beginning I liked very much.

I love Slughorn's character. He's goofy, weird, and sketchy, and I can finally look past the fact that he doesn't have a mustache and he's not supremely rotund. I thought Jim Broadbent did fantastically.

I loved the Ron and Hermione bits, those were cute. I liked the Quidditch tryouts. I liked how they portrayed the memory that Slughorn altered. I was sooo glad that they put in the scene where Hagrid and Slughorn get a little tipsy...I was afraid they would leave that out. I thought Ron getting poisoned was good...very pleasantly surprised. And he was hilarious on the love potion.

I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate that Snape wasn't in more of the movie. Everyone that didn't read the books aren't going to have a clue why Snape is the Half-Blood Prince. No one is going to know why he was sick of the job he had, what job he was doing, or anything at all. I hate that they didn't show DADA. GRR.

I think Malfoy was a little too emo for me. I wish they would have given him more lines, showed a little more angst. He didn't do too badly though.

I also hated the attack on the Burrow. That was really unnecessary. Like...it did nothing for the film. I was hoping that maybe it would have some significance or something, but no. They just set the Burrow on fire and carried on. So where the heck are the Weasley's going to live???

Also hated everything with Harry/Ginny. I'm not a venom-shipper when it comes to them, but all of that was just really terrible.

I think I'll have to see it again...sometime.

I have not seen the movie yet, but I already don't like the fact that Jim Broadbent looks nothing like Slughorn! Well, I love all the actors and I bet there all great, but I am getting mixed responses from friends, fandango and here, veritaserum. Most people said it was good, not great. Others totally despised it. And then there was the occasional awesome. But nothing in between. I guess I'll just have to see it for myself!

I read a critic's review in the newspaper and he said that if you are not a fanatic, then you will love the movie. If you have read the books a hundred times over, then the movie may be dissappointing. I wish I could see it first as someone who's never read the books and then as someone who loves them, but unfortunately I can only see them as a Potterphile.

I tend to blabber on sometimes so hopefully this wont be lengthy...

Let me start by saying I was first introduced to the series by the movies. I think the first movie I saw was PoA, then I went back and watched the first two. By that time GoF was out so I saw that as well. Then I finally picked up the books and read them straight through HBP, and had to wait about 6 months for DH to come out. Anyways...that being said, the storyline was introduced to me first by the movies, and expanded on in the books. So I'm not a "purist" so to speak who wants the movies to be exactly like the books. I feel the books provide the frameworks for the movies, and its up to the directors and writers and actors to determine the direction of the movies.

OOTP was the first movie I saw AFTER reading the book. I was a bit disappointed, and can share a lot peoples remorse over the movie not being 100% true to the book and not having the same feeling you get in the books. But I think of it this way...when you've read the book and not seen the movie yet, your imagination is setting the stage of how you want it to play out. Everybody will have a different mental picture, so why expect the movie to be just like you envision it to be? There is no way it can be, so sit back and enjoy somebody elses retelling of the story. The same applies to HBP. Was it true to the book? No. Did it lay out the details and scenes like I expected it to? No. Was it an excellent movie? Absolutely.

I didnt understand the purpose of the scene at the beginning with the train station and the girl in the cafe. I guess to set the stage for the romance aspect of the movie. While on that subject, I felt the movie focused a bit much on the romance and hormones and dating aspect, and not enough on the most important plot lines...I guess thats Hollywood sometimes. I do think that the younger (teens and tweens) audience can relate to the characters more due to the romance scenes though.

I felt that the discovery of horcruxes and the delving into the memories and history of Tom Riddle and family was the best part of the book. On top of that, learning about the Half Blood Prince was a very large part as well. Both of these were skimmed over quickly in the film and cast as a side plot almost. If I were someone who is only watching the movies (like my brother is) then I would think that the horcruxes were no big deal, and would have forgotten about the Half Blood Prince by the time Snape reveals it is him. The movie focused too much on getting the single memory from Slughorn and teen relationships rather than learning the history of Tom Riddle and how he became Lord Voldemort, and learning how to destroy him. The actors that played young Riddle did a fantastic job and even creeped me out a bit, and I would have loved to see a few more memories or scenes with them in it. Come to think of it, Voledmort himself wasnt even in the movie? But I dont think he was in the book either except briefly maybe.

Things that the movie should have focused on more:

-Sectumsempra and Snape discovering Harry had the HBP Potions Book after seeing him use the spell on Malfoy (in the movie Snape just stood over Malfoy and healed him, you got no indication that that was the moment that Snape was the HBP or that he knew Harry had his book)

-Gaunts memory

-The other Prime Minister...the whole first chapter of the book was cut out, and I felt it was a great segway from OOTP to HBP

-Fight scene/Dumbledore's death...Harry was not immobilized as in the book, and there was not actual fight with the Death Eaters, they just came in, killed DD and were gone with Snape in tow...I would have liked to see more emotion and the moment made more "shocking" when Harry sees Snape kill DD...but then again I knew it was coming so I'm biased lol.

Things the movie was great on:

-Kept me entertained the whole time...I didnt feel like there were any down moments where I lost my attention

-Alan Rickman (Snape) was amazing as always. I could tell in the beginning that he was reluctant to make the Unbreakable Vow, and that killing DD pained him. He always does a fantastic job.

-Dumbledore's Death, while not like in the book, was very emotional and done well.

-Relationship between the Trio was great as always, the casting directors did a fantastic job 10 years ago when choosing Dan, Rupert and Emma.

-I really enjoyed Slughorn as well...Jim did a great job as Slughorn and towards the end you could really see that he was ashamed of the memory he possessed and knew full well its consequences

All in all it was probably one of my favorite movies, if not my favorite. As I said, I am coming at it from a movie viewers perspective, not expecting it to be 100% by the book. It was entertaining and emotional and kept interest very well. While it missed on a couple key points the book revolved around, it was still a great addition to the HP series! I'm looking forward to the 2 part DH movies, as this fed into them quite well!

I generally really enjoyed the film, I thought the film had the best acting yet and I didn't find Emma Watson annoying at all which was a first in quite a while.

Tom Felton blew me away, I think he was the best out of all the young actors, that bit in the Great Hall just broke my heart it was like 'I did this'

A couple of things irked me though

1. Hardly any Sirius mentions.

2. Ron's lack of lines at the end of the movie, I wish it was him who could've told Harry that he was fine with Harry with Ginny. It's a bit impersonal for Hermione to tell him when he was sitting right there. He could've said at least one line like 'We're going with you, whatever happens' like Hermione could've said 'You need us Harry' and then she turned to Ron and he could've at least nodded or said 'Yeah'

3. I wanted to see Hermione putting down Ron you know like the Quidditch and Ron finding out that she kissed Krum because that was what started him with Lavender. I don't know why but it just made it seem like Hermione was the victim in the whole thing, at least in the book Ron had a reason for dating Lavender but in the movie, Hermione made it clear that she liked him and he snogged Lavender anyway.

4. Also no mention of what the Half Blood prince was, they mention it was Snape but not why he called himself that.

Okay. Here we go.

Overall, I thought that the movie was well done. I thought that the mixture of darker scenes and humorous scenes was excellent. They would go from a funny scene to a serious scene and back and forth and, personally, I thought it was done rather well. The acting was excellent and kept in tune with the rest of the films. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised with the Slughorn character. When I read the book, I pictured him to be a short, round fellow, balding with a mustache and a bit more sketchy. That being said, I thought that he played the part very well and was happy that I was not disappointed. I was happy that they did not cut a lot of the scenes that I thought they would. For 1 example, the whole scene at Hagrids. They could have cut that out and re-written it differently but they did not. Also the poisoning of Ron. Good job there.

Now for the other side of the coin, a few things bothered me to no end.

First off, I did not see any point in the Burrow being attacked. It was pointless and automatically takes out the entire wedding scene in DH, where they all meet Xeno. Lovegood and start their quest. So we know ONE major scene will be cut out of the next movie.

Secondly, there was NO fight at Hogwarts. Could the movie have done without it anyways...yes...are almost everyone who loves the books going to be disappointed with the fact that this HUGE part was left out...yes, I believe.

Thirdly, no funeral scene. I think that this is a major part in the book that should not have been left out.

Fouthly, a small little thing here, but having known exactly what will happen in the 7th movie(s), why in the heck did they make the Gaunts ring the way they did? There is NO DH markings on it at all and that plays a HUGE part in the final installment. HUGE! Why would they leave that little detail out? I don't get it! Now the ring is going to look nothing like the one in this movie. Confused.

Fifthly, why on earth would they change the entire scene at the Astronomy tower? I don't understand why they would change that. The way they made it is pointless. It doesn't change the story at all if they did it the proper way with Harry getting paralyzed and having to witness it all happen before his eyes! WHY would they have Snape corner him below and tell him to be quiet? WHY would they alter that scene at all? I DON'T UNDERSTAND! Just leave it be!

Lastly(at least that I am going to talk about), what it God's name were they thinking when they changed the whole scene in the RoR where Harry is supposed to hide the book beside the lost diadem of Ravenclaw? That is a HUGE mistake? Why did they have Ginny hide the book? What was the point of that whole thing? This means that the entire section of the DH movie from when they first arrive back to Hogwarts through the Hog's Head Pub and then go to the Ravenclaw tower to see the statue and the diadem and then rush to the RoR and battle Malfoy and the others over the diadem....is this ALL going to be ommited now and/or changed to something else?! What on EARTH WERE THEY THINKING? So now we know another ENORMOUS part of the final movie that will be altered or just left out.

I don't even know what to expect now for the DH movies. I think I am more nervous that excited now. I mean, they are making the final film into 2 parts , meaning about 5 hours of movie(if they go the same as the first 6) And 5 hours of movie is a LOT to go over all the details that they COULD have and SHOULD have left in the HBP movie. At least should have touched on them!

So, overall, good movie and for those who are not huge fans of the books or have not read them at all, the movie will be enjoyable. For me, however, I left it at 2:30am, a little disappointed at the useless cuts of important scenes and also the alteration of said scenes as well.

No doubt I will see it again and am sure that I will enjoy it even more the next time but no matter how many times I watch it, it will not put those scenes back in the movie.

Thanks for letting me vent. I would love to hear everyone else's opinions on my opinion.

Cheers.

I have slightly mixed feelings about this movie :-) Overall, i thought it was a fantastic! I really enjoyed watching it and i was on the edge of my seat for most of it, even though i knew what was going to happen!

I'll start with the positives: Cormac and Lavender were played brilliantly, as was fenrir greyback.
I found many parts of the movie HILARIOUS - especially ron, luna lovegood and some of the lines in the movie were pure classics (im sure you know what i'm talking about )
The opening was amazing in my opinion - the death eaters flying around london
And i loved the scene at the burrow when the whole house went on fire because of the death eaters - that was done brilliantly

Tom Felton completely blew me away - if i had to give an award to anyone in the movie, it would be him. I really felt all of his pain and hardship and emotion towards the end of the movie. Top, top marks for draco malfoy


Now, negatives: I hated the fact that there was no funeral for dumbledore. Would it really have killed them to add an extra four minutes to the movie? Even just to see his coffin and the spectacular scenes with the phoenix and evrything?

I absolutely hated the part with harry in the cafe at the beginning - i was really looking forward to seeing albus land in the dursleys - can you imagine how funny that would have been? Why on earth did they change that? It was the biggest mistake of the movie.

I didnt really like professor slughorn. I found the actor irritating at times, even though overall i felt he did a good job. I probably would have chosen someone else for the part.

Where was neville throughout the movie? Did he even say one line? I know we saw him in parts but i would have liked to see much more of him - i think hes brilliant - that really disappointed me.

I was very disappointed with ginny and harrys kiss - was it even a kiss? It was more like a peck on the cheek!! I thought it was a real shame not to have more action going on with them.

Im really just stating the above complaints and disappointments because i loved the books so much

I think it was a fantastic movie, but i think ootp was just a tiny bit better.

But i really loved it - it was brilliant

I thought the movie was fantastic. From the opening scene showing Harry at the Ministry to him and Dumbledore fighting off the infiri the movie was spectacular. Well written, wonderfully filmed (David Yates is finally figuring it out) very true to the book (the closest one since the much shorter SS and CoS). The action was great the comedy was even better/less childish and even the added scene in the Burrow did not fail to disappoint (true they could have done something else better but they didn't so I take it for what it is, a wonderfully crafted scene that set up relationships and a taste of the hardships in the next two films). They even managed to bring some of the stuff they should have done in the last movie (Ron playing Quidditch) into this one seamlessly. The writing was fantastic as well, Steve Kloves finally captured the teen spirit, the comedy of relationships and the heartache, "How does it feel when you see Ginny kissing Dean?" "It feels like this." ~goosebumps~

But at then end they did not stay as true to the book as they had for the rest of the film. Dumbledore and Harry should not have had that conversation on the top of the tower. Instead the tower scene should have unfolded as in the book and the chase thereafter. I'm not sure why they cut the Funeral but the tribute and destroying of the Dark Mark was a nice visual and still heart wrenching. Overall Half-Blood Prince was the best film yet in terms of artistic value and audience intimacy, (I actually felt like I cared for the characters, the first time since Chamber of Secrets) and the third best in terms of following the books.

P.S. All of the actors did fantastic jobs, finally it seems the young actors figured out their styles and really learned their characters (Emma did not deliver all her lines the same, as she tended to do in previous films, Dan just got even better at showing Harry's inner feelings, Rupert wasn't so much of a third wheel this time and more of a front runner, Michael Gambon toned down Dumbledore to great affect, Jim Broadbent really captured the essence and pomp of Professor Slughorn and Tom Felton deserves a standing ovation because he played Malfoy perfectly without a hitch).

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars

Okay so I just got back from seeing HBP now and in my opinion I thought that the movie was really, really great. I thought that it had a good mix of humor, romance, and violence. Although there were things that could have been done differently I felt that overall it was awesome.

Likes:
- I thought the humor in the movie was great, I know that I laughed several times throughout watching it
- The acting was by far the best of all the movies. I felt that Rupert Grint did an awesome job in this movie. I loved when he had the love potion and you could really see the emotion on his face. (The part with him falling off the couch and hugging Slughorn was pretty hilarious) Also his reaction from drinking the poison was done perfectly, I don't think he could've done it any better. Tom Felton did an amazing job playing Draco. As others have mentioned, I felt like you could really see the pain he was feeling at the end when he had to kill Dumbledore, and the part in the bathroom when he was crying was sad too. I just wanted to say "Awwwwwwwww". Again Alan Rickman played Snape perfectly. I felt he could have said more about being the Half- Blood Prince, but I thought he did really good when showing that he didn't want to kill Dumbledore but had to do it anyway.
- I loved Luna's lion hat and thought it was pretty funny how she was just sitting there at the table.
- Lavender was portrayed well too, she really annoyed me at some points which was the whole point. The bit on the train was funny too.
- I'm glad that they added in Quidditch again because I was starting to miss that.
- The bridge scene at the beginning was pretty cool
- "Soft skin", that was funny
- Slughorn talking about the Lily flower was sweet, I'm glad they added in the scene with Aragog and the whole burial
- Bellatrix was also portrayed well, the part in the end where she randomly set Hagrid's house on fire was done good. It seemed very much like her personality.
- I loved how they addeed Fawkes in at the end, I wasn't sure if they would

Dislikes:
- I wished they showed Harry at the Dursley's house instead of choosing the train station and have Dumbledore show up there
- I think that it would have been better if they had Dumbledore's funeral at the end, seeing everyone gathered there for him and also the part with the Elder wand maybe.
- Although the attack on the burrow added some more action to the movie I felt that they could have added more important things instead
- I think that they should have had Ginny and Harry kiss in the common room like the book, because then it would be in front of everyone and we might see how Ron was feeling

Well these are just my opinions of the movie, and overall I really liked it. I agree with you Anduril, I would give HBP 4.5 out 5 stars. Can't wait to see it again, and I'm sure that won't be too far away. I'm looking forward to seeing other's thoughts to the movie as well.

Nothings hotter than Harry Potter! Or so a couple of girls hoodies said earlier this evening! Unless you count Tom Felton and Rupert Grint.

I loved the movie and definitely think is was well worth the wait although, I didn't like the beginning with Harry at the train station. I don't think that part was necessary. They could have left the original story in place but I guess they had their reasons.

I was disappointed that Neville didn't have a more prominant part...just 3 lines or was that words?

Evanna Lynch's Luna was brilliant as it was last time. I was less affected by Emma's normally over animated eyebrows and Bonnie was OK.

The stand out performances were Tom Feltons Draco and Rupert Grints Ron. During the scenes when Ron had eaten the love potion I was in fits of laughter, Ron played it with comedic genius! The same goes for Dan's Felix Felicis scene. He looked like he was drunk but very funny.

Tom was briliiant, pulling out a really gutsy performance of a young man fearing for his life if he didn't carry out the Dark Lords orders. The scenes in the bathroom and on the Astrology tower were very moving and you ccould really feel for him. Well done Tom for making this viewer have a bit of sympathy for a character I really didn't care for.

I think they handled the death very well and really didn't expect to be moved to tears but as soon as they showed the tear roll down Hermiones cheek I was a goner!

I would have liked a stronger closing scene, but I guess you can't have everything. Can't wait to see it again next week!

I completely agree with Droobles in the area of indecision. I definately need to watch it a few more times. And I also agree that there wasnt enough time for Rufus, but if they would have put in the new minister, the scene at the burrow for christmas would have not been the scene of firey destruction we were treated to. DD's funeral being left out absolutely infuriates me. End of story. With all the changes made for the movie, I actually expected Harry to save DD since he wasnt immobilized. I don't think it would have suprised many people. all the acting was wonderful but I have a problem with mr DD. In this movie, he didnt seem as "dumbledore-ish." He didnt have that all knowing, wisend, tone that I have come to expect.

This was a huge dissapointment. I was geared up for such an amazing film I didn't consider for a second that this movie wouldn't be up to scratch, Prince being my favourite book aside from Hallows. But well lets get the posistives out first.

Alan Rickman and Micheal Gambon are truely amazing actors. Their facial expressions are just genius, conveying so much emotion in one look.
The cave was entertaining, looked visually stunning and was generally frightening.
The comedy when it wasn't being overused was funny.
Tom Felton was brillant on the astronomy tower scene, showing how Malfoy basically crumbled.

However, I believe that the film suffered because of its cutting of its scenes and lack of action. The missing of the battle at the end clearly stands out and is a shame to not see. Because after the death it was just Death Eaters running off out into the grounds. No real confrontation, even the Snape and Harry confrontation lacked emotional power.
The love scenes where oh so overused and became more of a plot then Voldemort and his meomeries. The lack of meomeries was a huge loss, i was looking forward to seeing the Gaunt house and Voldemorts job interivew with Dumbledore.
The attack on the burrow was rather pointless to try and a rather desperate attempt to insert some action. With it being over before it had begun and it why on earth did Bellatrix and Greyback just apparted away after Remus and Tonks joined them I don't know.

As for the death.... *sighs* Much better than Sirius's quick dispatch in Phoneix...But still not up to my expectations. I did like the build up and I like the spacing, so everyone could see each other. Dumbledores last look to Harry was rather good. Dumbledores plead was perfect. However then after he was hit with the killing curse, I disliked the way the camera followed the top half of Dumbledore falling, i'd have rather seen from a wide shot, as his whole body plummeted down from the astronomy tower. It seemed awfully comical the way he fall. I don't know was that jsut me.. am i being to picky?

I did however, like the wand raising not in the book, however it was touching.


The ending needed the funeral. I felt the conversation between the trio lacked the emphisase and didn't leave me wanting more...

An ok film nothing more nothing less. 6/10

I actually really liked the movie. Well let me re-phrase that - I liked about 90% of the movie. I thought the movie was great especially the dynamic of the relationships. I love how they added in the scene of harry and ron talking about ginny and hermione, that was just great.

I liked the characters and I think Lavender and Slughorn was casted perfectly. The only thing I didn't like about how the relationships played out was the lack of a moment with Ginny and Harry. I mean they gave Harry and Cho a huge moment when they kissed in OOTP, and Ginny and Harry just get a relative peck in a less than beautiful room.

The biggest problem i have with the movie is that the epic battle between the DA and OoTP vs. the Death Eaters was left out. How can that be left out! I mean most movies actively search for a way to add in action and this movie lacked a ton of it. I get the idea that they wanted to focus on the relationships since the movies to this point really haven't focused on the romantic part of Harry Potter, but that battle was supposed to be huge. Also, the funeral at the end would have been nice to see. They did have a service for Cedric in GOF, why couldn't they give some more time to Dumbledore! I would have like to seen them continue with the Order because they didn't elaborate on any of the members or make reference to it.

Not only all of that, but they added in snape talking to dumbledore about not wanting to kill him and displayed smape showing emotion, while in the books we were in the dark about it til the end of the 7th book. They even made tonks and lupin a couple without setting that up at all.


In conclusion, I guess I have more problems with it then I originally thought. I'm seeing it again tonight, so i'll post back with more thoughts tonight or tomorrow...

The HBP book was very choppy writing because JKR was trying to keep the size down below the size of OOTP. She just had so much to say and do in the book and had to cut and skip over a lot to get within a page allottment.

Then they took this really choppy book and tried to squeeze it into the movie. That made the movie really choppy and hard to follow.

Okay, just in from cinema, here we go...

Liked

Comedy - Slug Club scenes with McLaggen etc
- Lavender, Jessie Cave was great
- Ron with the love potion, that was comedy genius!
- Harry after taking Felix Felicis

Ron/Hermione - it was all VERY accurate!

Dumbledore's Death - yes I cried, it was perfect!

Malfoy - I must give credit where credit is due, and Tom Felton did a great job!

Disliked

Harry/Ginny - okay, I guess from a film point of view, it was all pretty sweet, but it just
wasn't what I wanted from it. Hermione knowing? The kiss in ROR? The lack of
break-up???

All a bit rushed, I felt like all the Horcrux stuff was just stuffed into the last half-hour, when it was the most important thing.

Overall Verdict

My favourite of the films so far, was it perfect? No, I doubt it ever could be, but I think it had the perfect balance of comedy, romance, action and emotion. I thouroughly enjoyed it

I just came back from the movie theatre, and I feel...Well, I don't really know how I feel, that's the problem. Overall, there were some great scenes, but the movie didn't flow well at all. It was choppy, and when you have the best of actors and actresses, even they can't save what is a mess of dialogue.
As a Snape/Rickman fan, I must say I am extremely let down. This movie was titled "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" for a reason, yet there were so few Severus/Alan scenes. I really loved the shot where Snape was crouched down by Draco, healing him from the effects of Sectumsempra, it made me want to cry for some reason, but because of the enormous lack of this man, he seemed like a secondary character rather than a primary one, which he is in the book. When it's revealed in the (basically non-existent) Harry/Snape chase scene that the Half Blood Prince is indeed Snape, there is no impact whatsoever. I freaked out when I read it in the book, but in the movie I almost thought "So what?" before I could stop myself. The acting was incredible, don't get me wrong for a second, Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe and all the other actors did amazingly, but the scene was poorly placed.
Enough about Snape. I could go on for days.
In the beginning of the film, where it shows Harry being photographed, I thought that it was the perfect mood to begin the film. When it shows the waitress in the cafe flirting with him, however, it completely threw it off. Harry Potter, (especially books six and seven) is not meant to be funny, or light. It's meant to be dark. I didn't appreciate much of the added humor, it distracted the plot.
Dumbledore's death was very sad, not necessarily because of the actual death, but because they didn't really manage to get that right. When Snape shouted the Killing Curse at him I cried in the book, but not the film. I was actually crying because I wasn't crying. I wanted to cry, I wanted it to be emotional.
Before that, when Snape motioned for Harry to be quiet under the floorboards, I loved how amazingly Alan pulled that off....(I'm being biased, aren't I? ) However, Harry stayed quiet. Which was very very very out of character. Harry would never take an order from Snape when his mentor, a person he deeply cared about, was about to be killed. I was appalled at the fact that the writers did this.

I really enjoyed Jim Broadbent's performance, he was really good as Slughorn. Better than I could have hoped for. He pulled it off exactly as it was in the book, I was happily surprised.

I really, really, really want to like this film. I do, I'm trying. But I'm still unsure about my opinion. I know I stated many things that I didn't like about the movie, but there were many things I did like, too. Jim, Alan, Dan, Tom Felton, they all acted wonderfully, along with much of the other cast (like Maggie Smith as McGonagall) did well. Heck, every actor was good, so I'm undecided.
Verdict: Your Honor, the Jury would like to call a mistrial.

I just returned from seeing the Half Blood Prince with all of my anticipation shattered! I was appalled at the amount hat was left out that were majors sections!

Harry telling off Rufus was a good part in the book, the two ministers were vital to understand why the weather and death tolls were occuring and why Fudge was sacked. The funeral woul dhave been beautiful to see because you could then feel the connection between Ron and Hermione, not to mention seeing a civilized Grawp. Draco's injuries from the Sectumsempra spell were much more minor than I imagined in the book. I thought it would be gushing as if it were from Sweeney Todd. The Inferi were pretty good but the boat was in fact big enough to fit both Dumbledore and Harry at the same time. I thought the potion was green. Am I right? How is it that when the pair apparate to the rock by the cliffs, then wind up in the cave, they are completley dry? Weird!

There was no fight between Cormac and Harry, so he didn't crack his skull. On the Hogwarts train, SUlghorn didn't have a 'get together' either. Why was the Burrow attacked? What about Fleur and Bill's wedding? I hated when they didn't show the battle at Hogwarts! I wanted to see how bad Bill was attacked!

Good gosh! There were so many parts extracted and parts that didn't need to be added! Don't get me wrong, all of the actors did exceptionally well, especially Tom ! The only part of the movie that kept me from leaving was the actors themselves! I just really hope that both of the Deathly Hallows are good enough to make up for the lack of details in this movie!

My friend just posted this and I thought it should be shared with everyone. It's extremely long so i'll split it into segments. Here's his opinions on the movie (not necessarily reflecting my own views):

"I just felt like writing this. Go with it:

What is it with the Harry Potter franchise and its complete and utter lack of regard for the source that the movies come from? Here they have the ultimate "How To" guide: how to create an original, brilliant storyline, how to make something that millions of people love, how to have something that in it exist such a multitude of in depth characters and minute detail that its sheer brilliance still creates awe in those who read it today. And instead of greeting that "How To" guide with open arms and embracing it, they cast it aside with the foolish belief that they can create something...better. The first two movies may have not been exact cinematic replicas of their written counterparts, but they still left their audience feeliing satisfied with the world of Harry Potter. And then out of no where, along comes Alfonso Cuaron with his take on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and completely ruins what made the movies a pontental movie landmark. There was the sudden need to change everything, from customes to locations to storyline and from that point onward it seems to be the norm for each succeeding directors. The worst of these offenses is the deviation, or in some cases, the complete fabrication of the story. Nevermind hiring mediocre actors with only a slight understanding of the character of whom they are portraying, though that in itself is very irksome. Nevermind having terrible cinematography and editing were the dialogue just seems like a meesh of words without proper understanding (those who have never read the book cannot and will not ever be able to fully appreciate the beautiful complexity that is Harry Potter). Nevermind having your leading actors not pushing themselves to do the best that their acting abilities are capable of. It is a mark against the author of the books and and insult to those who read them to have people take on a project that should involve intricate know-how and appreciation for the original literature, but instead they hire a bunch of profiteering movie makers who see this as a way to leech off some of the success of what appears to the latest trend. The third, fourth, and fifth movies of the series are at most one-fifth of the what they could be. The creativeness, imagination, plot twists, character development, emotion and all the other things that make these books great are taken for granted by everyone who settles for a less than average adaptation. And now, Warner Bros. have done it again...


my friend's post continued...

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is by far the worst adaptation from the series yet. As a movie, on its own, it actaully passes as an enjoyable summer outing. It is humorous and can hold the intention of the average movie goer who may or may not have some background history of the series. That said, this is not about how to make an acceptable movie. This is the sixth movie of what should be by now an established franchise. They've killed continuity with the making of the the third installment, changing everything from the the Fat Lady to the Hogwarts grounds to the uniforms to the actual characters, most notably Profeesor Flitwick and to some extent Hargrid. From the fourth one onward, they somehow deemed it necessary to make the magically world of Harry Potter much more human, industrial like, such as the cold metal, skeketal interpretation of the World Cup Stadium. Most if not all of the students who are studying how to be a witch or wizard find it much more suitable to wear normal clothing in a magical castle than even just a cape with the Hogwarts crest on it. But all of these annoyances and greivances pale when it comes to the storyline and book-to-movie comparsion. And with this newest movie, one must ask oneself if they even used the book at all...


cont'

"A basic summary of the movie could be broken down as follows: typical unexplained random happenings in the beginning followed by a less than satisfying ending and somewhere in between lay two hours of teenage romance angst. But even that is not the film's worst crime. Nowhere in artistic licensing does it state the right to completely throw away the adaptation's source in exchange for the movie makers' own creation with the "Harry Potter" label slapped on it and distributed to theaters across the globe. Yet, this is exactly what they do. Cuaron may have only known that the book his movie was based off had a character called Harry Potter and somewhere in the story there is a prisoner of Azkaban, but even the scenes he wanted to create, such as Buckbeak the Hippogriff being executed in a graveyard (wouldn't have that been cheery) were nixed by either the studio of J.K. Rowling herself. Now, three movies later, it seems that no cares about the books, as long as they can make some movie by a certain deadline. And in that hurry, it is unbelievable that no one stood back and said, "Maybe we should read the book one more time before we decide on the final cut." As far as book-to-movie adaptations go, there obviously are not the means to create an identical version, be that time constraints, budget or even the need to include unnecessary plot points. And some movies succeed inspite of this. And of those movies, they fall into two categories: those where the book and the movie are completely different entities and both are equally good (such as the Bourne books and movies) or those that are merely a summarization of the book because the book is just, plain and simply, too long to include everything (such as Gone With The Wind or The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) These movies somehow succeed, despite being different from the original material. So why does Harry Potter fail? The short, blunt answer is the fact that whoever is making these movies do not care enough to make the best movie that can be made based of the original series. Bad special effects can be forgiven. Below-average secondary charcters whose actors, well, simply cannot act can be overlooked. But what cannot be explained, what cannot be forgiven is the fact the studio and the film makers find it acceptable to merely "get by" with just some movie. Things have to be considered, thought out, not rushed by putting as little as background information as possible and from time to time inserting dialogue that while pertains vital to understanding the plot, is mumbled so it cannot be understood. The perfect blend of these two scenerios is in the beginning where Dumbledore is "explaining" his burned hand. Ignoring the fact that it is never truly explained, all that can be audiably inferred is "thrilling tale" and "later." Which, by the way, could be a thrilling tale, but the audience will never know, not unless they read the books and hopefully remember the specifics. And speaking of the beginning of the movie...


cont'

"It is understandable that Harry is a growing boy, in need of companionship and what-have- you, but adding a scene where Harry is flirting with a waitress (or probably more the other way around) is completely ridiculous. This may be nitpicky, but first and foremost, what wizard would bring a newspaper that contains moving pictures into a Muggle restaurant? Apparantly one whose Muggle relatives are forgetten and needs to meet another wizard in a dreary subway tunnel. This was unnecessary and almost embarrasiing to watch, not just for Daniel Radcliffe, but for whosever idea this was to first: create it, and second: to actually include it. From there, the story travels to a house that has been all but destroyed to find a rather different Slughorn than described in the books. Lupin may have been different than originally pictured, with movie version having Lupin displaying a thin blonde, little Latin- esque mustache and two great gashes across his face. And no one could have predicted that movie Mad-Eye would have been an overwieght individual with a strap around his head to hold up his magical eye. But this Slughorn was not only altered, but a new character all together. Instead of an overweight, borderline obeise, walrus of person, there is instead a small twitching, borderline alcoholic. What is unfornuate about this is that is causes a Battle-of-Wills. This new Slughorn is actually portrayed by a very good actor, whose expresses his troubled past in a very believable sort of way. But accepting this decision to cast this person is to accept a new Slughorn whose physical appearance is all but complete different, minus the fact that he is caucasian and he is old. And for the record, the predicament that the audience finds Slughorn in the middle of in the beginning of the film is not explained, or maybe it is. But you would have to have a mighty good pair of ears and the ability to decipher the mumbling mumbo jumbo that this director deemed worthy of calling dialogue.

And what can be said about the near two hours of flirting humor that follows. Actually, that right there says it all. To say it is not funny is to be completley biased against the movie. But at the same time, not only did it drag the film out, not only did it took away from other storylines that could be included, it was all the movie seemed to focus on. Yes, teenage drama was a major part in the book. Yes, they did a good job portraying that in the movie and conveying real emotions to the audience, where everyone at one point or another can say "O, I know how that feels." But there comes a point where too much is, quite frankly, too much. Picture the Yule Ball in the fourth movie. Perfectly done. It was the perfect balance of the book with the movies own creativeness and good amount humor, drama, and basic storyline. Then it was over so the audience can focus on what a terrible and underwhelming movie the rest of it is. The point is, that the whole Yule Ball scenrio doesnt find itself the humor drive that the Goblet of Fire needed throughtout the entire movie. It just merely does what it is supposed to do: give an introduction to the sordid romantic lives of young witches and wizards and that's all. Yes, all this teenage romance plays a bigger role in this movie, but there are other things happening as well. Just because the inclusion of an unprecedented Katie Bell being cursed and Felix Felicious somehow actually managed to find its way into this film, does not justify the fact that all the main storylines are pushed to the side to make way for teenage angst. Humorous, yes. But a bit too much, yes.



cont'

"What can be said about the attack on the Burrow. One word: fabricated. This does not happen in the book and it is a mighty bold move to include this. The only possible reason is that because the powers-that-be decided to eliminate that characters of Ron's older brothers, Bill and Charlie, therefore Bill cannot marry Fleur, therefore there is no wedding, therefore it really is trivial as to when the Burrow gets attacked, if it should get attacked at all. But point being, this was an unnecessary venture and one that probably should have waited until the seventh movie.

And now comes the end. O that anticlimatic end. A strange thing happened in the theater. After all the laughs about Ron and Lavender Brown were over and Harry's anxiety over Ginny were put to rest, there was complete silence that loomed across the audience as the mighty waves crashed upon a lonely rock. And it wasn't a silence of boredom. It was one of anticipation. Everybody in that theater who read the book knew what was coming and were probably secretly praying that the movie would not mess this crucial part up. It did. Not outright, but it did. The attack of the Inferi, all thirteen seconds of it, seemed more random than anything else. Instead of making small talk about Harry's shaving methods, couldn't Dumbledore find the time to inform Harry (and the rest of the world) about He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named's Army of Corpses? And the weakened Dumbledore did not seemed that weakened at all, a little tortured before, a little under the weather later, but certainly not weakened enough to let a group of Death Eaters raid his castle, have a distraught Draco disarm him and have a collegue kill him. Yes, those who have read the seventh book know why things happened the way the happened. But the emotionality was lacking. Instead of realizing that Dumbledore is dead and was killed by none other than Severus Snape, what instead happened was Snape mumbling the killing curse, which is never fully appreciated even all the way back from the fourth movie, and then the world watches as a subpar Dumbledore falls, almost humorously, in slow motion to the ground while Harry was completely free to stop the whole thing from happening. This version just doesn't make sense. It is sad that Richard Harris could not finish his role as Hogwarts' Headmaster. And it is pretty much unanimous that this new Dumbledore is not as good as the first, but that does not stop it from the scene being a pontential heart breaker and for sure what should have been a tear jerker (whose secure, little world wasn't shaken up a little when they read that the greatest wizard who ever lived was indeed dead?) And here it is, the Merlin-esgue wizard has died and to further disgrace his name, there is no battle to at least prove that Dumbledore's life had value. No instead, the Death Eaters come and go as they please with the only causulity being a white bird while the Vanishing Cabinet was being experimented on. There's no funeral, no anything. The movie just concludes with Harry and Hermione talking, rather breezily in light of what just had happened and Ron merely smiles almost sedatedly. Harry states that he had just began to notice how beautiful Hogwarts is. That's funny, the readers knew that from the first time the read a chapter called "The Journey From Platfrom Nine-And-Three-Quaters" in Book One. Where were they movie makers these last ten+ years?



cont'

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince should live as a testimony as to how to not make a movie based off a book. What a make movie great is its story which is why movies like It's A Wonderful Life (whether you have seen it or not) continue to endure and those like Fired Up will die with this generation of those stuck in arrested development. To say Harry Potter does not have story is a lie, it does, all you have to do a get a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and open up to page one. And as for the future of the Harry Potter movies? It will be up to those in charge of making the final one, both parts. For it is up to them to decide whether this movie franchise still has a last minute chance. Will the Harry Potter movies be forgotten or be remembered and live on? We can only hope for the latter."

That's it...

To the members of this site and the administers i'm sorry for taking up so much room, but i thought it was important to get my friend's thoughts on this site. Again I apologize if anyone is upset.

To my friend I must credit him for this opinion his name is Dan

Ok so jere's my short verdict. I was pleasanlty surprise, as my least favourite book I was more engrossed in the film than I anticipated...until the end. I Sorely missed the huge fight at the end, no one noticed DE's were in Hogwarts and that was it, Dumbledore was killed and it was over. I loved it finishing on a sombre note, people left the cinema very quiet. But I was most impressed with direct lines out of the book, the return of characters such as Madam Pomfrey and Aragog.

However after going home and thinking about it I only remember seeing all other vital characters for no more than 5 mins each, which I found sad. Overall it was better than I expected, the soundtrack is phenominal, especially the continuity it added from previous films such as the main lines in the quidditch score from POA was used in the quidditch scenes here. I thought continuity wise they did a great job, having the same director really does make it flow better from one film to the next.

I'll be seeing it again many times and I don't doubt I'll enjoy it more next time as I notice the finer details.

Ah yes just flicking above I too was disappointed with Sectumsempra, I wanted more blood, more pain and why was harry allowed to just walk away from that? Ah I'm remembering more opinions now...Now we know snape is good I feel they softened up his character, people should hate him becasue he plays his alias so well in the book but I did not find him as cruel as he should have been. I found Greyback plain scary but worst of all was when Katie put on the necklace, that was very graphic and scary I loved that part!

This is my first time posting in a long while. I thought the movie was very well done. As with any other movies based on books filled with so much, there had to be a lot left out. I still think the wedding could've been fit in, but regardless, a nice balance of romance/humour and dark/deep themes.

personally i loved this movie and think it is the best so far. it really seemed to draw me in and keep me watching unlike the other movies. for some unexplicable reason i just found most aspects of the film better than the rest, the acting was more mature and you could tell that the actors especially the young ones have become better at what they do. and the cinematography was great. as a harry potter fan the lack of significant plot was disappointing and frustrating, but i did love the funny parts, and felt as a movie-goer that this was the best "film" so far even if it wasn't a perfect presentation of the book it was a more believable and satisfying experience the all of the preceding movies

1.Half-blood Prince
2.Prisoner of Azakaban
3.Order of the Pheonix
4.Goblet of Fire
5. Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
6. Chamber of Secrets

I need to see it again without a squirming three year old on my lap whispering 'I wanna go home now' in my ear.

Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover how I am feeling. I am downright irked!!

I supposed I should start with the things I liked or thought were okay since there are very few. I am not a big fan of Ron's character let alone his movie character but this film was absolutely brilliant. Rupert Grint's portrayal of the quidditch scenes, his lovesickness, his snogging and the obvious tension between Ron and Hermione were fantastic!
Loved the whole bridge and chaos stuff in the beginning...that is how I imagined the times to be...just plain getting out of control-wish there was more of that element of things just getting out of hand.
I loved seeing the Joke Shop. It was bursting with energy and excitement and exactly how I imagined it. Overall, I think the humor of the film is what saved it for me. I laughed so hard in parts. I don't remember laughing like that in any of the other Potter films. A nice change from OOTP where all I did was boo and hiss at Umbridge in the theater.
Draco's character in the Astronomy tower was perfect. I could feel his pressure and emotion of wanting to follow through to save his life and the lives of his parents but the fear of actually killing someone. I really felt sorry for him.
Okay so my dislikes are quiet extensive.

First, I did not like the way Dumbledore was portrayed. I feel liked they weakened the character's confidence. Dumbledore was supposed to be very assured of himself and I did not get that in the film. When they entered Slughorns house and DD looked almost alarmed was not a correct interpretation. In the book on page 64 (US version)
"What gave it away?" he [Slughorn] grunted....
"My dear Horace," said Dumbledore, looking amused, "if the Death Eaters really had come to call, the Dark Mark would have be set over the house."
Dumbledore would have known right off that something wasn't right if the Mark wasn't over the house.
Also for once, I thought that Michael Gambon underacted...especially in the Astronomy tower. Dumbledore was physically weakened and should have been slumping. I didn't see that. To me it was just Dumbledore having a normal conversation with Draco. And then no funeral. Really? If I hadn't read the books am I to assume that the Elder wand is to be buried on the grounds with Dumbledore? Especially since it is highly unlikely that we will even see Hogwarts during part 1 of Deathly Hallows.

Secondly, the entire Astronomy tower business, with the exception of Tom Felton's performance was a bust in my opinion. The Dark Mark not being set above it prior to DD and Harry being there, Harry not be immobilized in the corner, the lack of battles and chaos going on downstairs to distract everyone in the tower and finally Snape's entire scene in the Tower really disappointed me. I expected him to burst through the door and survey the situation like in the book-they could have kept that part true. I expected to see hatred and revulsion in his eyes as described in the book-they really could have kept that part true.

The lack of a battle was very disappointing. I don't count Bellatrix destroying the Great Hall as a battle and that farce of a duel between Snape and Harry on the grounds doesn't count either. You couldn't even tell that Snape despises Harry during thoses scenes. It was too much like he was protecting him and the sense we should have had at that point was Severus was a traitor. The lack of a battle at Hogwarts was anti-climactic and unbelievable if we are to believe that Hogwarts had the extra protection given by Aurors more security checks by faculty. I found it hard to accept that the Death Eaters and Snape would just walk out of the castle and blast Aurors without any resistance...especially because there was such a grand resistance in the book!

Also, if the book is called Half Blood Price, shouldn't that be a major plot point in the movie? The irony of Harry learning so much from a man that he hates? Shouldn't also DADA been shown because in the previous films Snape is coveting that position and even getting people (Remus) fired from it? It was almost as if that should have been an unspoken triumph for Snape.

I better stop for now. I may continue later but for now this will do. Does Yates or Kloves have an email where fans can express our disappointments in there efforts?

I just got back from seeing HBP for the second time. I must admit that it was easier to deal with this time. I went in ready for disappointment, as opposed to last night when I went in ready to see my favorite parts of the book up on the big screen.

So, to be fair, I really thought Rupert Grint was excellent, as was Jim Broadbent and his portrayal of Slughorn. The scenes that Dan shared with both of those actors were among my favorites. I even got over the bizarre beginning in the muggle cafe and the omission of some points that I thought were very important.

But I just can't get over what was done the the Astronomy tower scene. It was unbelievable, out of character for Harry, and unemotional. I balled like a baby in the books, but the movie had no impact. It wasn't just me, most of the audience was expressing their disbelief out loud. And no funeral? That was a travesty.

Finally, the book was named Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for a reason. Why was there so little of the half blood prince? I am biased; I admit it. Snape is my favorite character and I love Alan Rickman's protrayal of him. But it wasn't just that I wanted more screen time for my Severus, it's that the movie made me almost not care who the half blood prince was. There was no mystery, no build up, and no reason to find out who it was. And that duel scene between Harry and Snape left much to be desired.

Oh, I thought I was finished. Just one more point: the loss of the battle scene was devastating. Only four measly Death Eaters? McGonagall and a drunken (and missing) Trelawney could have handled them!

Thanks again for reading my rant. I had meant to touch on the better moments of the film. Sorry.

Lisa

Overall I loved the movie but I felt it was missing some key points

What I Wished would have been in it:

Bill attacked by Fenrir
Mrs. Weasleys and Fleur's fights
More about the horcruxes
Gaunt house memories

What I enjoyed:

Cormac and his expressions
Ron and the love potion
How Harry was always there for Hermione
When Harry took the felix (but I wish it was gold)

I was really disspointed by Harry and Ginny's kiss. The whole relationship was very weird. She never really broke up with Dean and I hated how it was brought up with Ron at the very end. I would have prefered it exactly from the book.

Dumbledore's death was not how I pictured it. I really miss Richard Harris, I feel he would have begged Snape for death in a better way. In the movie he almost demanded it in a harsh tone. In the book he pleads with him and "the sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening."

But I saw it twice and it was obviously amazing!

I've already told you guys what I thought but after reading some other posts I want to say some more.

I really think this movie is the best HP movie so far. The highs outwayed the lows for me.

- The beginning was great with the bridge being ripped apart ect. Made us see straight away just how much damage the DE were doing.
- The Love Potion scene was absolotly hilarious! Rupert Grint was amazing.
- Felix Felicis scene was very funny with Daniel and Jim Broadbent.
- I really liked Hermione's crying scene on the stairs. I think Emma pulled that off very well.
- Tom Felton's performance was outstanding, especially at the end in the Astromony tower.
- I liked the added in Burrow scene. It was the only part that actually had me feeling nervous because I didn't know what was coming. I think it was good thing for the people who have read the books to experiance something new.
- It was so funny! I know the cast had said that it would be funnier than the other ones in interviews and stuff, but I never thought it was be as hilarious as it was.

Yes, a lot was missed out but they can't really fit everything in, it would go on forever.

- The start would have been much better at the Dursely's house.
- I agree, the ending was dissappointing. I think the Astromony Tower would have been better the original way.
- And leaving the end fight out made the whole thing a kind of anti-climax.
- I didn't like that Bill and Fleur were left out. I think that considering they are involved quite a lot in the DH, they should have been in this one....I'm sure they'll manage to fix something up though. "Bill went on holiday to France and met Fleur" sort of thing maybe...

After watching the HBP I can't wait to see it again and I'm so much more excited for the DH!
Yeah, some things will have to be changed, but they will never be able to make it exact, and the HBP was a great movie, taking out the factor of the book.

I'd say 9/10!

i need to watch this again with the proper mind set. but for now, here's a short verdict.

disappointed. the final 30 minutes was totally not what i expected. horcrux detail wasnt told, how will harry destroy them if he doesnt even know anything general about them? snape's half blood prince nickname felt slapdash; it felt like it's there just for the sake of the movie name and serves no real purpose. okay he's the half blood prince, so what??
quidditch was good tho. and as mentioned by all the cast in the interviews, this movie was funnier than all of the movies and darker as well. but still, i wouldve liked to see more content!!

in a way i liked the film but it seems like a film for people who haven't read the the book as a person i was sitting next to had not read the books but they liked it but i think it strayed to far from the book and i hope that other harry potter fans agree that the books are masterpieces but the films are only good films. also what is up with the bit in the burrow at christmas as thats not even in the book and why is there no fight at the end, thats the best part of the book. lastly i was looking forward to who played the new minister but the only hint is a flash of a newspaper that says that fudge resigned.

Ohmygawd, it was so different to the book.
I mean, where is the Bill-Fleur thing?
And the whole Tonks-Lupin thing? I mean, they don't get together till like the end, in the book.

And where is the epic battle thing the night Dumbledore dies?
WHERE IS BILL GETTING MAULED BY GREYBACK.
Jesus Christ.

And Voldemort's family? Why do we not hear about Marvolo, Morfin and Merope?
And Tom Riddle Sr.?

Dude. The book is so much better.

And GOD, what is with the Weasley's house being burned down?
I HATE the way they showed us the Harry-Ginny and Ron-Hermione relationships.

The books are so much better.

But I really liked Draco in this movie for some reason.


HAHA, and I LOVE Luna.
But I didn't like Slughorn much.

Then again, I guess it isn't easy making these movies when the public has so many expectations, right?

But Lavender was SO annoying.
And Ron is SO hot.


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I posted this in another forum here on Veritaserum, but after I found this forum, perhaps this is where I should have originally posted. I have copy/pasted it in, so here it is:

In general, I have absolutely loved the movies to date. Each one has represented it's book very well, and told the story completely. HBP is the first one where I felt that the focus was a bit off. I liked the "style" of the movie, but felt the focus was on misplaced.

After being asked about certain aspects of the book for HBP, my general comment was "It isn't who dies or who kills them, it is the story behind it that matters most." I still feel that way. I just didn't feel that the 6th movie "told the story" as well as it shoul d have.

I also felt that character developement in HBP did not represent the book. Fenrir Greyback, in the book, was a savage beast with nothing but evil intent. In the movie, that potential was not well realized. He seemed menacing at best.

After spending days on my personal "all things Harry Potter" quest (reading books 6&7 again, watching all the previous movies in order and tapping online resources), I was ready for HBP, I had the anticipation of a bride waiting for her walk down the aisle. One very important scene that I fully expected was the battle inside Hogwarts when the Death Eaters entered through the vanishing cabinet. Instead, they just "walked in" and went to the astronomy tower.

I did feel the "teenage romance" aspects were well represented. The relationship between Ron and Lavender was wonderfully acted. I laughed quite a lot through those parts. Slughorn's Christmas party was a laugh riot.

I know that the movies cannot, realistically, contain all the detail of the books. Up to this point, however, they have represented each book very well. My opinion is that HBP is my least favorite movie. I didn't feel that the story was told or the pivotal moments were shown. We didn't get to "know" Voldemort as well as we did in the book. I still look forward to the next 2 movies with great anticipation. I will continue to love Harry Potter and all his adventures, but will likely not re-watch the movie before it is on DVD.

I thought it was amazing to be honest but there was a few things I didn't like:
-At the start it jumped a bit and went through it very quickly
-Lupin/Tonks because all we got was Tonks saying "sweetheart" and "we have to go"
-Ginny and Harry's kiss
-No Bill/Fleur
-No battle scene at the end and in the hospital wing either!
That's all I can think of just now but I loved everything else, especially:
-Ron and Hermione, they acted it well and put a bit more to it
-The whole comedy thing
-Slughorn's Christmas party
And everything else I can't be bothered listing.

As expected, the anticipation and excitement for those first few well known tones was palpable as the curtains opened in my local cinema. It was jam packed with barely a spare seat in the 800+ auditorium and i felt a little jump in my stomach as our movies title appeared through the customary dense clouds.

Unfortuantely for me and 700 other fans, this was about as good as it got. True, the humour was entertaining and several times the whole audience erupted into laughter. However my opinion reflects that of many other fans on this site who feel the focus was taken away from the true areas of quality that are in the HBP.

The bits that were done well, were indeed done fairly well. I enjoyed the reinvention of quidditch although the change in scene for the Ginny/Harry kiss was a huge let down. The small quirky details were spot on and perhaps this is why David Yates fails to address the bigger areas that should have been focused on.

As individuals, the performances were good and perhaps due to lack of opportunity their characters didn't shine through as percieved in the book (i.e. Snape and Harry's confrontation on the Hogwarts grounds). The Astronomy scene looked like it had been shoved in as an after thought with little rehersal and even less scope for dramatic achievement. As a result the acting seems flacid and half-hearted. It is almost as if Yates has expected the fans do know the conclusion of the Harry Potter series and take that into account when watching the meagre performances at the conclusion of his sixth movie.

The lack of a funeral was outrageous even though the congregation around his body was touching, it was a shambles compared to what could of saved a lack lustra film.

As an independant feature, the movie was witty, pleasurable to view with a few entertaining special effects. It even surpassed most of the previous movies. However the extent to which it deviated from the book allows it to be the greatest failure yet.

As fans and as a credit too J.K. Rowling's epic journey, i sincerely hope the cast and crew pull something out of their **** for the final two installments.

James

Well, all I can say is - WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not for the movie, but for the fantastic postings, starting with MOON... on page 1 and so many others. And I noticed that there are so many new members, so much more activity, so more fantastic!

I saw HBP last night and I am still trying to absorb it. I think if there was one word to sum up how I felt when I left the theatre it would be "melancholy" and I don't know why, that is why I am not ready to give my "likes & dislikes" just yet. And, it is late and I could not do justice to all of the other amazing postings, I have bever seen any thread so brilliantly responded to as this one!

So, I am going to read every post in this thread this weekend, review the book again (have read it only once ) and then post how I feel about this movie, which I hope will have crystalised more by then.

So, ciao for now

Wow! I wasn't expecting this many posts this soon. But I guess...we can say we truly are HP fans!!

I have to agree with a lot of you in here, so I'll just quote one person.

geenaweena



I was really disappointed. The comedy was good, Lavender Brown really bothered me. I don't know if it's because the girl playing her is not so experienced or what...but it just seemed a bit awkward to me. For me there was to much focus on the lovey dovey relationships. I was wanting to see a lot more of the main plot of the book. Voldemort's past, Dumbledore's funeral, the battle at hogwarts!

When Harry started running through the woods I was like (Where is he going!) Then they ended up at Hagrid's hut. Wasn't Hagrid supposed to be freaking out that Fang was in there...and they used Aguamenti to put the hut out?

I didn't like how the movie started. Scratch that...I liked the bridge and stuff...what happened to #4 Privet Drive? They did this with other movies as well. I understand having to cut parts of the book. Okay, fine cut things...but not the really important things. And for god's sake don't add in your own stuff!!! It was hard for me to keep track of them movie from time to time as it pertains to the book. It seemed they went of course a few times, added their own scenes and then got back on track.

I do have to say this...Emma Watson was amazing to me! Her acting in this film was perfect for me. She didn't over do it with the Ron situation. She sure has grown up! Dan and Rupert were also fantastic. I would have loved to of seen harry use Levicorpus on Ron...that would of been funny!

What happened to this movie being mostly about Harry's suspicions of Malfoy? In the book he didn't let it rest, constantly trying to get into the room of requirement to see what he was up to. He was so focused on Draco, that he annoyed Hermione and Ron and even Dumbledore. His focus on Malfoy was supposed to take away from getting the memory from Slughorn.

And where was Dobby and Kreacher? They were helping Harry trail Malfoy and giving Harry info. (Well, not so much Kreacher).

I read the home page every time I log onto to VTM to see what the news is. And talking in the forums I knew they were cutting out Dumbledore's funeral, Bill getting mauled by Greyback and a few other things. But it's one thing to hear it and another thing to see it. I guess I was holding out hope, that the reason they switched release dates, was to add in some of those scenes. I don't understand how they can keep out important parts of the book.

If I was JK Rowling, I'd be really upset.

Dawn

I too saw the movie last night and walked away disappointed..They left out so much. The book focuses on Voldemort's past and what led up to him splitting his soul and the search for Horcruxes. Most of that was left out. And with Draco? Boy was I upset over the lack of his appearances in the movie as opposed to the book, there was so little coverage of him, he spent most of his time un-covering the vanishing cabinet and not much else. It would have been nice if they had put the scene in there from the beggining where Harry followed Blaise Zabini back to Slytherin's car and was eavesdropping on what Malfoy was disclosing to Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise.

The parts where Harry went with Dumbledore to the memories of Riddle's family was left out, I thought that would be important. The final battle in the castle where the Professors were battling Death Eaters and Greyback was vital in the book, cause Bill Weasley was attacked. And in the book Draco and Dumbledore talked for a very long time on the Astronomy Tower, with Dumbledore trying to talk some sense into Draco about doing the right thing, while Harry watched under the Invisibility Cloak.

There was so many important things left out and the Burrow scene was unnecessary, I don't recall that happening in the book. I thought the Shrieking Shack was burned down?? I dunno I'm re-reading the book right now and I'm on Chapter 15.

Like I said there were many things left out that should have stayed in. I was disappointed to say the least. I'm not getting hyped up about Deathly Hallows, I don't want to be disappointed again. I have been since OoTP.

And who on earth were those two twin Slytherin girls at Slughorn's get togethers? They were not in the book.....

Oddly, I expected the first two hours to be kinda "meh" and the last half hour to be extraordinary. It was reversed.

The good things have already said, but as for the three things that bugged me most:

-No "I am not worried, Harry... I am with you."

-I personally did not like Dumbledore's delivery of the plead, nor did I see the "revulsion and hatred etched into the harsh lines" of Snape's face.

-The Harry/Snape confrontation was perhaps my most looked-forward-to scene of the entire series, and it was a complete and utter letdown. It lacked any real display of emotion, particularly on Alan Rickman's part. Unfortunately, it's not Rickman's fault -- he's a wonderful actor and does a wonderful Snape, but the script was altered and gave him no wriggle room at ALL. They changed the Half Blood Prince reveal into an "I am your father" moment as opposed to a semi-hysterical Snape revealing it, but more importantly than anything, I kept waiting for the stone-faced Snape to just SHATTER upon being called a coward. It says in the books that he looks even more pained than Fang, stuck in Hagrid's burning cottage, as he yells "DON'T -- CALL ME COWARD!!" God, Rickman could have done so much with just that one line and totally just ran with the character of Snape, but no. They just had to cut that. God.

Absolutely. I did notice that the Patel twins weren't in the movie and for a moment decided that these two very wierd girls (I don't know about you, but I thought they reminded me of the twins in The Shining) we there as some kind of replacement for them. Then I realised they were supposed to be Slytherins and I was even more confused. There are enough fully formed characters in the books that can be used without the director needing to slip in these unknown, and for the most part, unwanted characters that really jusy do not belong there.